Stocking



June 10, 1930. -E. M. WALL 1,762,601

STOCKING F'il ed May 5, 1927 ETH L M-WALL. avwewtoq Patented June 10, 1936 PATENT OFFICE ETHEL M. WALL, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA STOCKING Application filed May 5,

My invention relates to stockings, and particularly to stockings provided with means co-operating with hose supporting devices. It is the object of my invention to provide a stocking having means to which Ordinary hose-supporters may be attached for normally holding the stocking under a slight longitudinal tension, to thereby prevent sagging, wrinkling or twisting of the garment upon the leg; said supporter-attaching means being of such construction and arrangement, however, that when the leg is bent at the knee the additional tension of the supporter at therear may be relieved or compensated, and the circumferential elasticity of the stocking relatively increased, to thereby prevent undue stress upon the knitted fabric about the knee, where the expansion or increase of diameter due to the bending of the leg is most likely to cause breakage of the threads of the knitted fabric and the starting of runs in the leg of the stocking. I am well aware that various reinforcing devices, tabs, strips, eyelets, and

2 the like, have been heretofore applied to the top portions of stockings, for attachment to hose-supporters, the object of most of such devices being to avoid the direct stress upon the stockingfabric from the clasp of the '30 supporters, or to prevent breaking of the threads by the engagement of the clasps therewith. Efforts have also been made to increase the durability of stockings by the provision of so-called run-stopping reinforcing means located at the lower edge of the hem of the stocking-top, and intended to prevent the continuation down the leg of runs started at the supporter-clasps. The structure provided by my invention is for I 40 a purpose distinctly different from the foregoing, however, as will presently appear. It is well known that knitted fabric such as is used for stockings has a definitely limited elasticity both longitudinally and laterally,

'45 or circumferentially if the fabric be considered in the tubular formation of a stocking-leg. When knitted fabric is stretched in one direction, however, its elasticity in the other direction is correspondingly reduced. Hose-supporters are usually carried 1927. Serial No. 189,145.

by corsets or corset-like appliances which extend down about the hips of the wearer, one supporter-strap extending down therefrom at the rear side of the leg, and one or more of the supporter-straps extending down at the front part of the leg. When the leg is bent at the hip and knee, an extra tension is caused upon the rear supporterstrap, and said strap is thus caused to pull the stocking upwardly at the rear side of the leg, thereby taking from the stockingfabric at the rear of the knee the longitudinal slack which would otherwise be allowed in this area by the bending of the knee. In consequence of this longitudinal tension upon the fabric, and the corresponding reduction of the lateral or circumferential elasticity, the required expansion of the stocking at the knee, to accommodate the bending thereof, causes an excessive stress of the fabric at the sides and about the front of the knee, which often results in the breaking of threads of the fabric and the starting of runs therein at points below the top hem or reinforcement of the stocking, and such runs cannot be stopped or prevented by the usual reinforcing and run stopping devices hereinbefore mentioned. I have observed that the starting of runs in the portions of the stocking about the knee will be prevented if the rear supporter is not used, so that the added tension upon the stocking is not caused when the knee is bent; but leaving the stocking unsupported at the rear is objectionable because it allows the rear part of the stocking to sag and wrinkle when the leg is straight, and because the downward tension upon the rear supporter is needed to hold the corset down snugly about the hips. My invention provides a simple, effective and inexpensive means which enables a rear supporter to be attached to a stocking, whereby to secure the desirable effects of such support, without causing excessive longitudinal tension when the leg is bent, and thereby conserving the needed circumferential elasticity about the knee.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side view of a stocking embodying my invention, showing the same in use, and illustrating the relation of the stocking and hose supporters when the leg is bent, Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of a stocking-top provided with my invention, and Fig. 3 is a detail inside view of the stocking-top with my supporter-attaching device therein.

In .carrying out my invention, I provide for'each stocking a rectangular piece or strip 5 of knitted fabric, preferably of the same material and color as the stocking itself, the width of said strip 5 being approximately equal to the width of thehem or reinforced top 6 of the stocking 7, and the length ofthe strip being one-sixth to onefourth the circumference of the stocking-top. The strip 5 'may be formed by a double thickness of the knitted fabric whenever the weight of the latter is such that the added thickness is desirable for strength. The strip 5 is placed within the top portion of the stocking at the rearward side thereof, and the ends of the stripare attached by vertical lines of stitching 8 to the reinforced topor hem 6, leaving the upper and lower edges of the strip free and unattached. The upper edge of the strip is normally coincident with the upper edge of the hem 6, and the strip is proportioned to lie smoothly within the hem, the length of the strip and .of the portion of the hem intermediate the lines of stitching 8 being equal. The circumferential location of the strip within the stocking-top is such that when the stocking is in use the center of said strip will be approximately alined with the rear supporter-strap 9, the latter usually being laterally outward of the rear center of the leg, so that the strip is positioned as shown in Fig. 2, in which the rear center of the stockingtop is indicated at A on the vertical dotted center-line.

In the use of stockings provided with my invention, the clasp 10 of the rear supporter is attached to the strip 5 as shown in Fig. 1, leaving the adjacent portion of the hem '6 free, and-the front supporters 11 are at-v tached to said hem'j 6 in the usual manner.

The rear portion of the stocking is thus supported to prevent sagging and wrinkling, and the desired tension is maintained upon the rear supporter-strap 9 for holding the lower edge of the corset 12 snugly about the hip. When the leg is bent at the hip and knee, as illustrated in Fig. l, the increased tension upon the rear supporter is compensated by stretching of the attachingstrip 5, as shown in said Fig. 1, the longitudinal tension upon the fabric beneath the knee is relieved, and the circumferential elasticity is correspondingly conserved, so that excessive stresses upon the fabric at the sides and front of the knee are thereby avoided.

Now, having described my invention,

by Letters tudinal tension upon a supporter attached to the intermediate portion of said strip may be transmitted to the stocking-top principally in a circumferential direction, and'excessive longitudinal tension upon the rear portion ofthe stocking-body avoided.

2. The combination with a stocking, of a strip of elastic fabric disposed within the 7 open top portion of the stocking at the rearward side thereof and extending parallel with the upper edge thereof, and means for securing said strip to said top'portion of the stocking along circumferentially spaced substantially vertical lines only, the longitudinal portions of said strip intermediate said lines of attachment being free, whereby said strip is adapted for connection with a rear hose-supporter so that tension upon said supporter may be transmitted principally circumferentially to the stocking-top, and longitudinal tension at the rear portion of the stocking-body correspondingly relieved, for the purpose set forth.

ETI-IEL M. WVALL. 

